The productivity and survival of managed honey bee colonies is negatively impacted by a diverse array of interacting factors, including exposure to agrochemicals, such as pesticides. This study investigated the use of volatile heterocyclic amine (HCA) compounds as potential short-term repellents that could be employed as feeding deterrents to reduce the exposure of bees to pesticide-treated plants. Parent and substituted HCAs were screened for efficacy relative to the repellent N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) in laboratory and field experiments. Additionally, electroantennogram (EAG) recordings were conducted to determine the level of antennal response in bees. In video-tracking recordings, bees were observed to spend significantly less time with an HCA-treated food source than an untreated source. In a high-tunnel experiment, the HCA piperidine was incorporated in a feeding station and found to significantly reduce bee visitations relative to an untreated feeder. In field experiments, bee visitations were significantly reduced on melon flowers (Cucumis melo L.) and flowering knapweed (Centaurea stoebe L.) that were sprayed with a piperidine solution, relative to untreated plants. In EAG recordings, the HCAs elicited antennal responses that were significantly different from control or vehicle responses. Overall, this study provides evidence that HCAs can deter individual bees from food sources and suggests that this deterrence may not be the result of antennal olfactory detection. These findings warrant further study into structure–activity relationships that could lead to the development of short-term repellent compounds that are effective deterrents to reduce the contact of bees to pesticide-treated plants.

中文翻译：

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杂环胺诱导的蜜蜂摄食威慑和触角反应


受管理的蜂群的生产力和生存受到多种相互作用因素的负面影响，包括接触农药等农用化学品。这项研究调查了使用挥发性杂环胺 (HCA) 化合物作为潜在的短期驱虫剂，可用作摄食威慑剂，以减少蜜蜂接触经过农药处理的植物。在实验室和现场实验中筛选母体和取代的 HCA 相对于驱避剂N , N-二乙基间甲苯酰胺 (DEET) 的功效。此外，还进行触角电图（EAG）记录以确定蜜蜂触角反应的水平。在视频跟踪记录中，观察到蜜蜂在经过 HCA 处理的食物来源上花费的时间明显少于未经处理的来源。在一项高隧道实验中，将 HCA 哌啶纳入饲喂站，结果发现，相对于未经处理的饲喂器，可显着减少蜜蜂的造访次数。在田间实验中，与未处理的植物相比，喷洒哌啶溶液的甜瓜花（ Cucumis melo L.）和开花矢车菊（ Centaurea stoebe L.）的蜜蜂访问显着减少。在 EAG 记录中，HCA 引发的触角反应与对照或载体反应显着不同。总体而言，这项研究提供的证据表明 HCA 可以阻止个体蜜蜂获取食物，并表明这种威慑可能不是触角嗅觉检测的结果。 这些发现值得进一步研究结构-活性关系，这可能导致短期驱虫化合物的开发，这些化合物是减少蜜蜂与经农药处理的植物接触的有效威慑剂。